


Dichotomy

by Veilrony



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: AU, Child Abuse, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, good ol war, the fluff is a lie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-07
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-02-11 15:57:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12938676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veilrony/pseuds/Veilrony
Summary: Within the mountains and the underground, the poorest and the richest, there exist two factions. They have warred with one-another for decades upon decades, but so expertly that nobody but people whom are part of this war know it is even happening.That is, until two 11-year-olds from the outside world are pulled into this conflict and have no choice but to fight for it.





	1. 11:1

“Reiner! Bertl!” someone shouted, pulling Reiner away from his thoughts. “Where are you guys? You’ve won, you can come out now!” The whine continued.

It was Annie, and she clearly was still looking for them. Good, but she was close. He tapped Bertl’s shoulder, smiling as the lanky boy twisted around to see him.

They were in a cave that looked like it went even deeper. The stone was completely black and the shadows were even darker. The only reason that Reiner could see at all was the shaft of sunlight that poked through. 

“We should keep going,” he whispered.

Bertl got up, and he nearly fell backwards onto the stones. Both of the kids gasped, but Reiner reached out and grabbed Bert’s hand before anything could hit the walls.

“You ok?” he asked, voice breathy.

“Yeah,” Bertl said. “I wasn’t going to hurt anything.” There’s a pause as he steps down a rock. Reiner follows. “I just… we shouldn’t ditch Annie. It’s mean.”

“My mom shouldn’t have forced her to come along with us,” Reiner muttered. “And she’s been in the way all day!” He wanted to tell Bert that he had a crush on him, but that was  _ weird _ with his younger sister around. It was weird in the first place and Bertl probably had a crush on a girl anyways… but it never hurt to try.

“Okayyy…” Bertl stepped down more rocks and the ceiling got more and more crowded. “Is that why you wanted to play hide and seek?”

“Yep!” Reiner said, too loudly. The sound echoed, and he covered his mouth. “Whoops…”

Bertl giggled, high-pitched and… cute. Reiner wanted to lean over and smooch his cheek like in the shows, but then Bertl would get mad and they’d fight and Bertl would never want to see him again. So he just reached for Bertl’s hand. Normal kids did that… Bertl wouldn’t notice that…

They kept going until both of them had to crawl. Reiner let go of Bertl’s hand sadly until the ceiling was raised enough that they both could go up.

“Reiner?” Bertl asked quietly. 

“Yeah?” The cave echoed, but Reiner at least couldn’t hear Annie, so it was okay.

“I don’t like this cave,” he said, and Reiner realized exactly how uncomfortable Bertl was. He couldn’t see him, but his voice was strained and they’d been moving much slower. “What if we get lost?”

“We won’t,” Reiner said. He could feel that they were headed upwards. So it was ok. Right? “Just keep going upwards. That means we’ll be hitting the surf--”

“No, what if we get lost out there? Like we can’t find this cave again and we stay out in the woods and starve? My grandma was making stew tonight…”

“That won’t happen!” Reiner said. It wouldn’t..! “When we get out of this cave, we’ll mark it! And we can’t lose it then!”

There was a pause and they both kept going. They were finally able to stand again, and Reiner took Bert’s hand again, almost sighing at how even the simple act could help him calm down. Bertl was right though…

“Why are we hiding so well…?” Bertl asked.

_ I want to be your boyfriend and don’t want anyone else to know _ . “I… I don’t know,” Reiner hazarded. “Annie’s annoying,” you laugh.

“She’s not  _ that _ annoying… She’s really nice actually.” Another pause from Bertl. “She just doesn’t like when you’re mean to her.”

Reiner shook his head, almost smacking the side of his face on a rock. “I’m not!”

“You’re being mean to her right now!” Bertl said. “She’s probably alone!”

Reiner hissed beneath his breath. “Our mom probably would’ve found her.”

Bertl almost mimicked the sigh. “Alright but… don’t do it again. I hate it when people are sad.” He gasped for breath as he heaved his upper body over a ridge. “It -- hrgh -- makes me want to cry too.”

Oh… “We can go back for Annie then,” Reiner said quietly. He didn’t want to make Bertl sad. He wanted him to be happy! That’s why he was doing this! But if he’d be happier knowing Annie was happy…

“S’okay!” he said. “We can keep going if you want…”

“Okay,” Reiner replied, heaving himself over the same ridge. “Sounds good to me.” His arms shook as he stood back up.

They were quiet as they kept going, and the ascent became stiffer and stiffer. Something skittered away, but Reiner couldn’t tell where from, and he squeaked loudly.

“Huh?” Bertl asked, but stopped. Reiner heard a gasp, and his feet scuffling upwards. “Wait, I see some light!”

“Oh!” Woo! Reiner climbed up at the same rapid pace Bertl did, and soon they were out of the cave.

Reiner looked around to see if they could find out where they were. Bertl was doing the same, but sitting on the ground, panting.

They were… in a completely different area. The familiar pine wood was gone. Now, they were in a field next to a large hill. How long had they been in that cave..? They’d probably gone through a lot of turns… It kinda felt like it.

“Let’s mark this cave!” Reiner said finally. Stay positive, stay positive… he should’ve been excited, not panicking. He’d just have to force the excitement. 

“Any rocks…?” Bertl asked. He seemed a lot more comfortable, though still gasping for warm summer air.

Reiner couldn’t see any. “Uhhh…” He glanced around, looking for something to use to stand beside the cave or something. “I… can’t…” Then he stared at a tree branch above him, the only one in sight. “What about that branch there?” He reached out for it. Yeah! He could grab that!

“Oh!” Bertl twisted his head and stared with wide eyes at the tree. He hopped up and grabbed the branch, taking it with him as he fell. “There!” he said as he brushed dirt off of his overalls.

“Thanks!” Reiner said, overcome by a sudden rush of admiration for the taller boy.

“You’re welcome!” he chirped, giving the branch to Reiner.

He placed the branch in front of the cave, then looked further around in the field. He noticed something that looked like another forest, and he started his run over. “Let’s go this way!” 

They ran until they were both heaving for breath, but at least the forest was closer.

Only for them to discover there wasn’t another forest. There was… a stone arch, but that was the only thing in sight.

“Wow,” Bertl breathed as he caught up to Reiner. “That’s  _ cool… _ Did you want to show me this?” He flashed a toothy grin at Reiner.

“No… I just wanted to get away from Annie but… this is actually  _ really _ cool…”

They walked under it, and Reiner noticed the sotne was crumbling. “Where are we..?” he finally asked.

Bertl shrugged, skipping beneath it and squeaking as a rock nearly fell on his head. 

“You ok?” Reiner asked, almost immediately, before Bertl laughed and got out from underneath the arch.

“Yeah,” he giggled. “I like this!” 

Both of their attentions turned to a road that started to form from the grass and heading further away from their cave. “Oooh…” Before either of them said a word they both came running down the path.

They’d find their way back… It was a road, how hard could it be? They just hoped they’d be back by sundown. But then again, they’d only ditched Annie for… almost an hour now. 

It showed too, they were getting really, really tired. Reiner at least wanted to nap somewhere, but no! Not before telling Bertl!

He ran faster until the grass got so long they could only see the road before them. Then there was a tree. And more trees. And they were back in a forest again, and it just got darker and darker, and the leaves set sun dappling on the ground.

Then Reiner tripped on a branch. He skidded hands-first into the ground, crying out before he wiped out.

“Owwwww….” He got up slowly, brushing dirt off his pants. He glanced at his hands and noticed they were covered in scrapes.

“You ok?” Bertl hugged Reiner tightly.

“Scraped,” he said, taking in a deep breath so he didn’t cry in front of Bertl.

“I can kiss it better…!” Bertl said without missing a beat. “That’s what my mom does when I fall over! That way it doesn’t hurt so much!”

“I… You don’t need to--” Reiner stumbled for words, but Bertl took Reiner’s palms and gave a light smooch to each.

It was all Reiner could do not to kiss Bertl at that moment, so the most he could do was more jumbled protests. 

“I… I.. thank you but… that was really cute -- I mean sweet!”

Bertl giggled. “It’s the least I can do!”

To that, Reiner’s brain fried. He… yeah, he had to tell Bertl soon. Before it came out badly. “Let’s -- let’s keep going!”

And face bright, bright red, they kept running.

Finally, they got tired enough that they slowed, slowed, then flopped onto the path right next to one-another. 

“Hid enough..?” Bertl gasped.

“Yeah…” Reiner rolled over onto his stomach and saw the road fade away again. In front of them was a clearing, almost, and then… a really, really old building. “What’s that though…?”

Bertl rolled over too, and his eyes widened. “Let’s go in there…” he said.

“Yeah…!” Reiner said. He got up, legs  _ hurting _ , and started running onto the porch. It creaked loudly, but it didn’t break.

He twisted around, waiting for Bertl to follow him on. He saw something dark dart behind a tree, and the hairs on his arm raised. Was that a bear?

“Hold.. hold my hand?” Reiner asked.

“Why?” Bert asked.

“I…” He didn’t want to worry Bertl. “This building’s really old.”

Bertl huffed in agreement and took Reiner’s hand in his own.

Reiner realized it was a church as they walked in, then he realized that… this was the perfect place to tell him. Nobody was around… 

Yay!


	2. Chapter 2

“Captain Hawke,” the radio crackled. He was pulled away from his thoughts, but not in enough time. “Captain Hawke!” the voice shouted again. He realized it was his fellow officer in charge of this mission, Captain Vance Trevor.

“Yeah?” he asked, trying to drown out the loud wails of birdsong from his ears.

Did you see that?” a voice crackled through Hawke’s radio. He glanced down at the ground, and realized that he should have been watching better. Or at least listening, but then again, the roar of those birds drowned out even his thoughts.

“No,” he growled back into it. 

There was silence from the other end, and Hawke was wondering exactly what he was supposed to be looking at. “Okay smartass, tell me--”

He was cut off by the radio crackling again and, “Two boys headed towards the ratsnest.”

What? If the radio wasn’t tethered to his belt he would’ve dropped it. “Excuse me?” This was a wild goose chase. A chore, because for the last three weeks this place had been nothing but empty, but Miera refused to let this place go. He was surprised that people were even out here at all.

“Yeah, two kids. Survey the area.” Trevor crackled, probably from the birds too, but didn’t disconnect for a few moments, as if he was staring at something.

He didn’t need to hear that twice. He needed to hit the ground and start looking.

He disconnected his harness, shooting it at another long, thick branch before scaling down it. Closer to the ground, he noticed the silver grass, a sign that they’d run through the area, and away from Hawke. They’d run right past them and he hadn’t even noticed. He was a goddamn fool…

He dropped from his perch, his harness hooks wrapping on spools around his waist as he fell. He landed soundly, crouching down and sending moist dirt flying.

He followed the footsteps and checked the compass that hung of a string around his thighs. Yeah, this was right in the direction of the ratsnest. 

He ran, following behind, taking a second to look behind him and see if any of his compatriots were following behind, or at least surveying. His legs took long stride but no dirt flew out behind him. In fact, his footsteps were almost completely unrecognizable as a human’s, due to their tread. 

He kept going until he saw the church come into view. He ducked behind a tree and continued running through thick bush. He stayed close enough to the path that he’d be able to see the boys. His own clothing was dark enough that they wouldn’t be able to see him in the shadows.

He caught sight of them. One had blonde hair, and the other had black. He was almost a foot taller, though.

One of the boys looked back, and Hawke realized that he couldn’t risk the mission by being on the ground, no matter how well-hidden. He shot his hooks up to the nearest branch and was pulled up with barely more than a whizzing sound. It was that second the boy took a double-take, eyes wide.

His radio crackled again, before “Located” rang out from Trevor. 

Like he didn’t know. But, still… they were so close to capturing a corps member — a pair even. And after that, the rest of their filthy kind.

He watched closely from his treetop as the boys entered the church. “Hold off,” Hawke said quietly. “They’ve entered the ratsnest, but… let’s see what they do in there first. We might find something out.”

***

Reiner was right… the building was really old.. Of course, he’d seen that before they’d walked in, but it was still kinda surprising to walk in and feel the boards creaking underneath their feet for themselves…

Bertl gripped Reiner’s hands tighter, but when Reiner winced he pulled away. “Sorry,” Bertl said. He’d forgotten about the fall and the scrapes on his hands, even though it was only twenty or so minutes ago.

“S’okay. I'm just…” he trailed off, then whispered beneath his breath “glad you’re holding my hands at all.” He didn’t think he was supposed to hear that, but his heart leapt anyways. Could Reiner like him too..?

They kept moving, slower this time. Creak, creak… The sounds of the building being able to fall on them at any point in time were terrifying, and Bertolt found it hard to even walk in case the building collapsed on them.

“I’m scared,” Bertolt finally admitted, after a moment of walking around inside the church. Reiner gripped his hand tighter at the sound of it, but they kept on going. More creaking. Bertolt’s breath hitched as he heard more creaks, even when they weren’t stepping, and he felt Reiner’s hand grow tighter on his.

“It’s ok.” Reiner sounded like he was trying to keep his cheer up, but even Bertolt knew that was wrong. It was useless to. He felt the board literally bend beneath his feet and wanted to run. This place was old, there was no way that they could stay here. “This was cool in the beginning,” he said as Reiner stared at an intricate but broken staircase, “but we should go home now. This is just scary.”

“No…” Reiner said. “I want to check something out.”

“Ok…” Bertolt looked up at a stained glass window and noticed a silhouette on the other side. He blinked and shook his head and then it was gone. Okay… this was just his mind showing things that weren’t real. Just his mind, just his mind. He ran behind Reiner, following his footsteps. 

Wait… Something was wrong. He looked around before he noticed that even though this place was old and broken, there wasn’t any actual… “There’s no dust,” he said.

“Huh?” Reiner asked, looking around.

“Look! No footprints because there’s no dust,” he said. “It’s like there are people who live here.” He finished the sentence quietly, feeling a pit grow in his stomach.

“I don’t think that’s… I don’t think that’s the case,” Reiner said before giving a chudkle. He ran up the stairs, stopping when the creaking and bending of floorboards got loud enough to scare even Reiner into caution. Bertolt followed closely behind.

“Hey..!” Reiner said after a pause. “Check this out!” There was an open hole in the wall. It was sawed open like a door, and the hinges were the only dusty part. They were in a sort of attic, but it looked down on the aisle and pews. “This is cool,” he said, opening it a little further so that the door creaked. Loudly. 

“Oh…” he said. He wasn’t interested anymore. This place was scary and there were probably people here. “I want to go home.”

“Oh…” Reiner echoed. “Can I tell you something first?”

Bertolt’s heart skipped a beat as he remembered what Reiner had said earlier. “Sure…!” he said. “Here, though?”

“Yes, here.” He went further into the wall, tracing his fingers along the boards. Bertolt mimicked the gesture, until finally, Reiner stopped. There in front of them was a chest. “Or… after we see what this is?”

It could be somebody’s though. Bertl shook his head.

“Please?” Reiner begged.

“As long as we don’t take anything,” he said quietly. “We’re not bad.”

“Okay…” The chest opened with a creak, and Bertl knelt down beside Reiner. There were just… sheets of paper. A photograph. Reiner dug deeper, only to bring up more paper.

“A book?” Reiner asked. “Your mom can bind it!”

“We’re not taking anything!” Bertl said in response.

“Fine…” He looked down, but still gave the papers to Bertl. “You want to read them?” he asked. “I like hearing you read…”

He gawked at the papers silently, noticing that they were… letters. “No,” he said quietly. “They’re not ours.”

“Okay…”

But Bertl still didn’t let go. He held them in his hands, and he noticed that Reiner’s own were fumbling.

“I… can I say it now?”

He was so nervous. It passed onto Bertl, but he didn’t want to say it. “Sure…”

Reiner’s jaw dropped, but he gulped and gained his composure. “Well, uh…” Another gulp, and Bertl’s anxiety started to run through the roof. What was he going to say? What?

“I lo—”

Then there was a loud bang as something was destroyed. Then the shouting, then the final cry of “Find them!”

 


	3. 11:3

He needed to run. To find somewhere to go. Anywhere. He shoved the papers into his pocket and leapt away from Reiner. Run. Run, run, run, run. Nothing else was on his mind and the heartbeat through his ears drowned out all noise. The men streamed through the door. Nowhere to go.

_ Window _ . No. He’d die…

He was trapped.. but there was the door. He could close it and hide with Reiner until they were ok. He twisted around and saw that it was closed. Reiner’d left him out here. He was out here to die... He was going to die.

And he couldn’t bang on the door. Then Reiner would die too. He needed to keep going… to hide until he could slip past them. Something, something, something…

He noticed a table… that would work. Yeah. He could hide there. He bolted there and slid beneath a tablecloth, pulling it so that he would be less visible.

_ Now… be quiet, _ he told himself. He just needed to stay calm. Not even his breaths should be heard. So he focused on the surroundings. Not on the soldiers or wherever the men were. The dustless wood floor. The old railings that were still pretty, even if they were chipping away.

The way that the door that Reiner was behind was completely hidden. 

Reiner was hiding and Bertolt was left to die.  _ No. _ He wasn’t going to think of that. He didn’t want to cry. He couldn’t cry or he’d die.

Keep focusing on his surroundings, keep focusing. The creaking of the floor… because there were so many angry men looking for something. Maybe him and Reiner. And they were going to kill him. He was going to die. He was going to… his breathing quickened and his throat tightened. 

_ This is Reiner’s fault, _ something said to him. No… he shook it away, noticing men with light boots and green cloaks storm through the second floor in front of him. They passed the door, not even noting it. Reiner was safe…

Unlike Bertolt.

But the men cleared out, and they were facing elsewhere. 

This was his chance. He could run now. Maybe he wouldn’t be seen.

He saw a gun hanging from the waist of one of the men. Then all of them.

He’d be shot if he ran… but he’d be caught anyways.

He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. It didn’t matter. He just needed to run. His legs wouldn’t move though…

Then a man twisted around, and he paused. They were both stone still among the chaos for horrible, horrible seconds, and then the man twisted back to his group of four others. And Reiner was completely unnoticed… He was thankful, but a wave of bitterness ran over him.

The bitterness didn’t matter. This was his only chance. His legs hurt with every movement, like they didn’t want to move, but he pushed his long legs out and he ran. He didn’t want to hear the shouts. He refused to hear the shouts as he made his way down the stairs.

Step by painful step he made his way. Then there was a loud bang. Where Bertolt’s hand just was, the wood had been blown away.

Run…  _ run run run run run _ . He just needed to keep going. Keep going, like his life depended on it.

It did.

He shouldn’t have come out here. He should’ve told Reiner that this was a bad idea. He should have just dealt with Annie…

Another bang. The floor in front of Bertolt was blown out of existence.

The cries because audible. “Stop running, or we’ll shoot more!”

The fear gripped him and he just ran faster. He kept doing and zigzagged until he was out the door. He jumped off of the steps, falling into the mud and rolling. No. No, no no.. he had to get up. He rolled over, getting up, legs kicking wildly, into the bushes.

And he kept going.

He had to.

Birds screamed in his ears, branches whipped in his face, he could feel nothing but white blinding pain scratching at him everywhere, but he wasn’t dead.

Then, the whirring started. Green capes few above him, but they didn’t shoot at him.

_ And Reiner was safe. _

A branch grabbed his pant pockets and paper spilled out from them. He stepped on the pages as he tore himself away from the grip of the branches, feeling as he was pulled out of their hold. He kept going, falling over so he landed on top of more broken branches. His hands screamed in pain. He had to keep running. Though. Just.. keep going. That was all that mattered at this point. Then light blinded him, and he slowed to a halt before he realized where he was.

A clearing. He saw as the men that had been whizzing above him landed, rolling and then getting up with acrobatic ease.

One man with a fur-trimmed cape and metal plating over his chest stepped forward. On his waist was a rifle, and Bertolt wanted to run back into the woods. There’d be no hope there, either… He was doomed.

“You,” the man said. His hair was wild, dark hair falling over his face. 

He didn’t know what to say, so he froze.

“You’re coming with us.”

And Bertl knew that he was. He was captured by these strange men, and running any more would get him killed. 

He fell to his knees as the man approached with three more at his side, and waited for them to take him away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter this time, but it's hard to describe when your character is... frantic.


	4. 11:4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey uh big tw for child abuse? Well at least like... violence against kids ;;

Bertolt didn’t know when he woke up. Or for that matter, when he was forced asleep. All he knew is that when he woke up he was in some dark room. No light, and he couldn’t move.

He expected to wake up and find out that he had been living some surreal dream. Some kind of dream, some kind of dream, some kind of dream. This was no dream. Here he was, alone and afraid and unsure of what he could do. He was in the dark. He was closed in. This was a nightmare. Another nightmare, he tried to reassure himself. He was brought out of his thoughts as he accidentally moved but was stopped by the burning of ropes in his skin. He gave a small cry of pain.

Then he started to sob. Reiner was gone. He was here, he was alone, and he didn’t know what to do.

The door opened and the first thing that Bertolt saw was a tall man. Green cape, like all the other ones. And that gun tied to his leg with straps. Gun... He stiffened, ropes hurting even more.

“Who are you?” he asked through the tears.

He wasn’t given an answer as the man closed the door, turned on a light from the ceiling, and kneeled down in front of Bertolt. “So...” he said, pulling down a pair of sunglasses. “You’re the little shit that they caught earlier, huh.”

Bertolt couldn’t even move. He just shook, every single second punctuating his fear. This was real. The pain proved that. He couldn’t wake up. More proof.

“Answer me, corps,” he said. He said it like _corpse,_ and that made Bertl flinch and give a cry of fear.

“Don’t hurt me,” he burst out. “Don’t hurt me please. Please don’t hurt me,” he said before falling into babbling. It was all he could do before he was interrupted by fiery pain on his cheek.

“Shut up, Corpse.”

He looked back at the man, his brown hair messy and his dark eyes glimmering. He felt that fiery pain turn to a dull sting, and he realized that this man had hit him. This was really happening and he couldn’t wake up. The babbling stopped for seconds of silence, punctuated only by Bertl’s sniffling.

“Now, you’re going to answer me,” he said. “Now you get my name. It’s Captain Vance Trevor, and you’re gonna tell me everything you know.” Bertl watched with wide eyes as the hand that slapped him rested on the top of the gun, fingers on a switch. The safety?

He tried to take a deep breath, sniffling away snot that was dripping through his nose. His eyes stung with tears though.

“What’s your name, Corpse.”

The name still terrified him so much. “Bertolt...” he said quietly. He wanted to go home. He wanted to go home, and stay there, and crawl into the blankets and cuddle with Reiner until he was sure he was out of this and that he was safe.

“Why were you at the ratsnest. Who was with you?”

He gulped painfully, and his throat stung more as he remembered Reiner. “I was playing a game,” he said. He could barely understand his own speech. “I was playing a game and I was _alone_ ,” he sobbed.

“We saw two.”

Bertolt’s heart stopped as he regarded Trevor. “Don’t lie to me, kid. We’ll burn everything you love to the ground if you do.”

He imagined his house on fire. Reiner’s house on fire. Them crying and screaming and he could already see this green-caped soldier forcing him to watch. “Ok...” he sounded weak enough he was barely audible. “I was with my friend. We were hiding from his sister...”

Now, Bertolt felt another pain against his cheek, and his face was swung to the side. The cold chair he was in was tipped over, and he crashed to the ground. Pain seared in his other cheek as well. “I told you not to lie,” Trevor said.

“I didn’t!” he cried. Tears streamed down his cheek, and he could feel blood in his mouth. He’d bitten his tongue, and now the pain from that was running through his veins. “I want to go home!”

There was a silence from Trevor and the most Bertolt could do was stare up at him. Scary, waiting for something. Why couldn’t he pick on someone his own age? This wasn’t fair, this wasn’t fair, this wasn’t --

His chair was lifted up and placed back. “Alright. One more try.”

Bertolt couldn’t talk. His eyes stung, and his vision was blurry. His eyelashes blurred the lightbulb above him and there was a circular rainbow around it. That was all he could see, and a rainbow in this room made him want to cry more.

“Where did you come from?” the man asked. He sounded like he was trying to hide that he was mad... it scared Bertolt.

“There was a cave... Rei-- my friend and I crawled down and up it and got lost and found a meadow then ran into the woods... then we saw that church.” He let the words flow freely. If he stopped he’d just cry more. He wanted to do nothing but cry. And go home. “Then we went in there and he was showing me something --”

“What did he show you?”

“Some sheets of paper. I didn’t read them I swear! I swear...” He started to cry again. Why him? He was alone and Reiner was safe. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t _fair._

“I see.” His voice quieted down, and he stood up, blocking the light so all Bertolt could see was his shadow. It scared him even more when he realized how tall Trevor was.

“You don’t have them on you, do you?” Trevor crooned.

“No,” Bertolt said. “I don’t. Let me go,” he begged. He could feel wet blood pouring from where the ropes were wrapped around his arms.

There was the sliding of leather straps unwrapping. Like belts. Like the ones that held the gun. Bertolt did his best to blink tears out of his eyes, and his blurry vision could see that hand raising the gun. Bringing it up. There was a click as the switch on the gun was flipped, and more tears started to come to Bertolt and he couldn’t let them stop.

He was going to die. He was going to die right here.

“I still think you’re lying,” Trevor said. “A liar’s no use at all.”

There was a flash of light as a door swung open. “Captain,” a sharp voice cut in. “Stop this.”

The gun was rested against the ground with a click, and the sudden relief just caused him to cry more. His hissing exhales were the only thing heard.

“M’lady...” Trevor finally said. His voice softened, and a glimmer of hope showed in the back of Bertolt’s mind. Was he safe? Was this some kind of nightmare?

The sound of his arms dripping onto the cement suddenly made itself aware to him.

“Untie him.”

“He’s a corps member...” he said quietly. “He deserves this --”

“He’s a child… different methods.”

Bertolt cried harder. Eleven. He was eleven. He shouldn’t have this kind of nightmare. Never...

There were loud footsteps, and the gun clattered to the floor. He shut his eyes tight as he felt tension on the ropes, pulling his arms back. They stung and he gasped in pain before the tension released. His bloody arms fell, fingertips touching the ground.

“There,” Trevor hissed into Bertolt’s ear. “Have some _fucking_ fun.” He sounded so mad that he didn’t get to kill him. It made Bertolt’s eyes well up yet again.

He tried to stand up but his legs were shaky.

“Come here.” The lady’s voice was so calm. How? Maybe this really was a nightmare. He walked towards it until his head was buried in fur. He dug his face into it, not caring. He just hugged her and cried more through the pain. He lifted his arms to grip the fur and sobbed harder into the woman.

Arms wrapped around him. He stiffened, then looked up. Through the tears his vision was still blurred, but he didn’t care. All he knew was that this woman’s face was lit from the back. Like an angel. She was an angel. She saved him.

“It’s ok,” she cooed. “Come with me... I’ll keep you safe.” She unwrapped her arms and grabbed his hand. “You deserve a good home.”

He had a good home already though... Did that mean she was sending him there?

He hoped so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bert's not gonna have a good time. Sorry guys


	5. 11:5

Quiet. Reiner’s knuckles were white and he couldn't stop gripping a broken floorboard. His hands kneaded with it idly and he could feel nothing but those horrid thoughts through his mind. Those gunshots. Hearing Bertolt bolt like he had. Hearing steps creak until there was nothing. Then, there was that stupid, _stupid_ silence, then the shouting started. Even remembering it, it was all Reiner could do not to cry. 

There were probably still people around, and they’d kill him too if they found out.

The thought of Bertl being dead made him want to cry. His throat tightened and he held back even a sniffle. He couldn’t make any noise.. they’d kill him.

Reiner was dragged out of his thoughts by the sound of creaking. Not footsteps, but almost like when Mom was headed out of the cellar after supper. A floor-door... but that would be one of the men. And they’d kill him.

“Clear?” he heard a man whisper. He sounded worried, just like Reiner was.

“Yeah,” another said back. “Jesus...”

Reiner crouched further into his own nook in the walls. He just needed to stay hidden. Then he can run home. And tell mom. And whoever tried to kill Bertolt would go to jail and they’d all be ok.

A pair of footsteps stepped onto the floor, and now Reiner could hear the creaks from them. “They really made a mess out of this place.”

They?

“Does it matter?” the other man snapped.

Reiner felt cold all of a sudden, and became aware just how bad a spot he was in. Bertolt was probably dead, or he ran away, and now more soldiers were in the church. And Reiner was stuck in a wall, alone.

This was all his fault. All of it. He should have just settled down in that cave with Bertolt and told him there. And who would care if Annie had found them? At least they’d be happy and safe. Or even just safe.

Reiner tried to stop it, but the tears flowed freely and he couldn’t stop them. He was alone and Bertolt was gone. Just gone, and he hadn’t even got to say goodbye. The thought alone made him want to cry even more.

The men’s footsteps grew louder as they headed up the stairs. “It’s a miracle they didn’t burn this place down,” Reiner heard one of them whisper. They were so close to him, it made him want to puke. His tears stopped, and he held his breath like it would help.

“I’m glad they didn’t...” He trailed off, and Reiner could hear hands running against the wall opposite him. “They shouldn’t have found...”

“It’s alright. We’ll find another base if we need. Okay?”

There was a pained sigh, and the man who was running his fingers against the wall leaned on it. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s all that needs to happen.

“Exactly.” 

Then, Reiner heard the door start to open. His heart skipped as  a shaft of cold light hit his face. He exclaimed and covered his face instinctively. His eyes adjusted and he lowered his hand, then came face to face with another boy, with spiked back hair.

“Oh,” he said. 

Reiner froze, and suddenly wished he was one. “Don’t kill me,” was the first thing out of his mouth, before the other boy could even open his.

With that, the boy shook his head. He knelt down and held his hands out. “Dad...?” he asked quietly. “There’s someone here.”

The other man ran down the hall, and ran into the doorway, a shotgun in his hands.

“Don’t!” Reiner cried, shielding his face and crying harder.

“Dad,” the boy hissed. He crawled closer to Reiner. “S’alright, little guy. S’alright.”

“He’s a legion kid...”

“Dad, he’s a  _ kid. _ ” He felt a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s take him in. Please.”

Reiner felt the phantom spiderwebs all over him dissipate as this other kid tried to protect him. He still cried, he couldn’t stop it even if he wanted to.

“Only for the night,” the man said. “Come on, Mar. We’ve gotta get out of here. For our own sake, alright?” The man huffed. “That kid should get back to where he came from though.”

“Can’t leave,” Reiner choked out. Bertolt would come back for him if he was still alive. If he left, Bertl would think he was dead.

“Huh?” the kid asked.

“Can’t,” Reiner said again, more confident this time. “I need to stay here.”

To that, the older kid stood up and pulled Reiner with him. “Doesn’t matter. You need a place to stay.”

“And you’ll give us away anyways, so you’re coming.” The boy’s father pushed his gun into a bag on his back. “Like it or not kid, you’re with us or you’re dead. Got that?”

He didn’t like it. He got it though. “Ok,” he sniffled. 

“Good. Now come along.” With a sarcastic grunt, the man continued. “Can’t wait to tell everyone why the  _ corps _ has to take care of a legion kid...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter, but still..! it's written, and now the plot can finally move.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry for a boring first chapter! More about worldbuilding and stuff will become relevant soon, but for now... just enjoy the fluff while you can. They won't be 11 long :')


End file.
